[[quoteright:350:[[Comicbook/{{North 40}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Crow3_8331.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:"... now why do I crave nuts and shiny things?"]]

->''In groups big enough for me to get full coverage of the area, my swarms took turns roving over my surroundings. They couldn’t pass through closed doors, but they gave me a sense of my surroundings that my eyes couldn’t. The results were almost the inverse of what I might expect from my eyesight. There was no grasp of color, beyond what I could guess from the various clues I got from my other senses, but I had a keen sense of textures. Where my eyes would have been capable of focusing on one thing at a time, my swarm-sense gave me the ability to pull together complete mental pictures from a thousand different points of focus. I could ignore line of sight, sensing around objects, and even though my bugs’ senses translated poorly, the sum total of their awareness gave me a sense of the little things, in addition to the big picture. I could sense where the air currents were traveling and the force with which they moved, the thickness of the dust in one area versus another, and where temperatures were higher, if even by a fraction.''--> -- '''Skitter''', ''Literature/{{Worm}}''

This character doesn't just [[SpeaksFluentAnimal talk to animals]] and [[TheBeastmaster order them about]]; he or she can see through their eyes and experience the world through their senses. The range of this power goes from [[BeingWatched paranoia inducing]] to SuperpowerLottery winner. On the low end, the character can see through one animal, usually a {{Familiar}} he or she is [[BondCreature emotionally and spiritually tied to.]] On the high end, she can do this through more than one type of animal, or even [[MindHive several at once]], making them close to TheOmniscient. Depending on the level of control, she may be able to go beyond seeing through their eyes and create TheSwarm out of local fauna.

Typically the animals are vermin or smaller, since their "small minds" are easier to control though bigger types aren't unheard of... but the tradeoff is they're harder to control. Depending on the type of bond, having one of these living listening devices [[PokeInTheThirdEye killed]] may cause the character to [[FaintingSeer faint from the feedback]].

When the host is human or a sapient animal, this becomes SeeingThroughAnothersEyes.

Compare EyeSpy. Contrast SurveillanceDrone.----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* The witch Arachne from ''Manga/SoulEater'' can see though the eyes of her spiders. Medusa is apparently able to do the same thing with her snakes (or anyone she's [[BodyHorror implanted]] [[ExplosiveLeash with them]]).* Tanya, a Contractor in the second season of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' has the power to summon clouds of insects and is shown to be able to use them for spying purposes. In one scene, she is able to listen and observe what's going on in another room by sending one of her bugs in there.** Mao gets a more in-depth version wherein he possesses the animal and can speak through it. Unfortunately, his human body got killed when he was out spying, so now he's trapped in the form of a cat.* A story from Rumiko Takahashi's ''RumicWorld'' series called "When My Eyes Got Wings" involved an IllBoy who could see the world through the eyes of a little bird.* Sei Arisaka from ''Manga/HimechanNoRibon'' can do this along with being TheBeastmaster. For example, he can tell his cat to spy on somebody and be able to look through their eyes without being in direct control.* Ino from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' can use her clan's possession powers to do this.* Fairly standard practice for familiars in ''LightNovel/FateZero''. Kiritsugu is unusual in that he prefers cameras since they can't be fooled by illusions while animal familiars still can be fooled.* ''Manga/HunterxHunter'': Flutter's Satellite Dragonflies allow him to see everything his conjured dragonflies do. This ability is later "borrowed" by Leol via [[PowersAsPrograms Rental Pod]], and [[spoiler: Ikalgo while he's possessing his corpse]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ''Comicbook/TheFalcon'', of MarvelComics, can do this with birds, with varying strength in doing so. Considering a bird's eye view, it could be pretty useful.* The page image comes from the comic ''Comicbook/{{North 40}}'', Luane lucked out with getting ''[[LovecraftianSuperpower just]]'' this ability. More incredibly, she handles the [[AGodAmI godlike power]] with incredible humanity, enduring dozens of [[FaintingSeer fainting spells]] to help stop the unsealing of the SealedEvilInACan.* The Flea in ''Comicbook/{{PS238}}'' appears to have this power at least to some degree when it comes to insects. After being swiped by a teleporter, the other characters were able to reunite with him by talking to random cockroaches, which he described as "better than cell phones."* In ''Comicbook/{{Dreadstar}}'', the blind telepath Willow can see through the eyes of her pet monkey.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]* In ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'', Ursula uses her pet eels to spy on Ariel. Each have one magic eye that provides a video feed back to her lair.* According to WordOfGod, this was originally going to be one of Shan Yu's abilities in ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'', but it was cut out both to save time and to avoid giving the villains too much focus.* The Skeksies of ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' have bat like creatures that fly across the land and transmit visuals back to them through a piece of crystal embedded in their faces.* Eric Draven from ''Film/TheCrow'' has among his powers the ability to see through the eyes of the title bird.* Claudia uses this trick to spy on Lilli in the forest in ''Film/SnowWhiteATaleOfTerror''. * ''Film/TheBeastmaster'': Dar and his animals. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* In ''Another Faust'', Victoria is given a swarm of moths [[spoiler:and eventually... ''other'' insects]] that allow her to spy on people. Unfortunately for her, anyone can control them as long as they're in the right room...* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has this as one of the most useful applications of Borrowing (possession magic). A mouse can walk through cracks, an eagle can fly high and fast, and an owl can sit on your shoulder and let you read through its eyes. The crystal ball has image quality problems[[note]]if one is using a cracked green glass fishing float[[/note]], an Omniscope is hard to aim, and scrying without enchanted hardware may or may not exist at all[[note]]it totally does: "we used to make do with a drop of ink in a bowl of water"[[/note]], so Borrowing has major advantages if the possessor is skilled enough.** And if they're not skilled enough, the possessor runs a severe risk of having their mind almost [[TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody inseparably entangled]] with that of the creature they're possessing. Also, the possessor had better make sure they aren't mistaken for dead while they're off gallivanting around in some animal's body.** In ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'' Count de Mapyre uses his vampiric abilities to see though the eyes of hundreds of magpies.** The Rat King from ''Discworld/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' can see through the eyes of animals. When Maurice feels its presence in his head, he closes his own eyes to hinder its attempts to locate him.* From Isobelle Carmody's ''Literature/TheLegendsongSaga'', Glynn discovers that is able to do this with the [[BondAnimal He-fienna]] while it is hurt. She also uses the link to experience occasional dreams like this with both the He- and She-fienna.* In ''The Bad Place'' by DeanKoontz, [[CreepyTwins creepy twin sisters]] Violet and Verbina have this ability. They share a constant mind link with each other and the dozens of cats occupying their home. Craving wild and evocative sensation, they often drift outward to possess the bodies of hunting animals and their prey to feel both the thrill of the hunt and the pain of death. They cannot do this to humans however.* In ''Literature/{{Desperation}}'' by Creator/StephenKing, the body-snatching EldritchAbomination Tak can enter and control animals, seeing through their eyes and feeling their thoughts, but only for short periods. Its presence inside living things causes them to wither and die and it has to hop from one to the other fairly quickly. It prefers humans because they last the longest.* In TamoraPierce's ''[[Literature/{{Tortall}} The Immortals]]'' quartet, Daine talks to animals, sees through their eyes, and even had them sabotage an army for her.* Creator/EEDocSmith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' novel ''Gray Lensman''. Kimball Kinnison makes mental contact with a spider and sees through its eyes as he uses it to turn off a Boskonian's thought-screen. He can do this with higher level animals as well.* In book twelve in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' book, "Towers of Midnight", Graendal does this to a dove in order to remotely see what her enemy Rand Al'Thor is up to.** In-universe, it's commonly believed that [[GodOfEvil the Dark One]] can see through the eyes of carrion-eaters like crows and rats. This is explicitly revealed to ''not'' be the case- while the Shadow's forces can commandeer such creatures to act as spies, they have to report to a [[HumanoidAbomination Myrddraal]] rather than having their own senses hijacked. Seeing through the eyes of such creatures, like Graendal does, is apparently a very advanced technique with [[BlackMagic the True Power]] that most of the Shadow's servants can't do. * In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', Voldemort has this connection with the snake Nagini. When Harry starts having dreams where he sees what Voldemort sees, there are several where he is experiencing the scenes through the snake.* Wargs or skinchangers do this in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', mostly with wolves, but other animals are possible. With training, they can learn to actually control the animal, but this trope is the first hint that you've got the potential. All of the Stark children are potential wargs, though [[spoiler: Sansa never learned how due to her direwolf being killed, and only Bran and Arya have shown themselves to be able to use it on anything other than their direwolves. This can also be done to humans, though they don't like it - when Varamyr tries to take over a human she gouges out her eyes and bites off her tongue in the fight for control of her body.]]** In the history of the setting, the infamous [[TheSpymaster spymaster]] and EvilChancellor Brynden "Bloodraven" Rivers is implied to have been a secret skinchanger who used his powers to pry on people through the eyes of crows and rats. [[spoiler:Reduced to an immobile husk literally rooted inside a cave in the main story, he continues the tendency. It's implied he's spying on the Night's Watch through Lord Commander Mormont's pet crow.]]* Herald Eldan in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' books has animal telepathy as one of his abilities, which gives him a touch of this as well. Many Heralds with strong "sight" Gifts can do this with their [[CoolHorse Companions]] -- though these are closer to guardian spirits than the horses they resemble.* This is essentially how Animist magic works in the book ''Literature/TheAnimist''; Animists each have a familiar they are bonded to for good, and they are able to use this ability to parse which useful spirits are in the area. The Animist is also able to full-on take over their familiar's mind if they need to -- the interesting twist here is that [[spoiler:whenever they do this, their familiar has taken over their mind too a la a BodySwap. This leads to things like the protagonist unintentionally appearing to make a complete ass of himself at a fancy dinner while switching places with his female rat familiar...]]* In ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', Bottle the squad mage was taught how to access all of the various Warrens (schools of magic), but his most important skill is his ability to control animals in his vicinity, something he [[NoExceptYes insists is not actually a form of magic]]. This proves instrumental in keeping his squad alive while they're crossing hostile territory, as he can spread out over a large number of creatures at the same time if all he wants is their sensory input.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':** An early symptom of Bran's ability to warg is when this begins happening in his dreams.** The wildlings make good use of wargs like Orell as scouts.* BOB in ''TwinPeaks'' can see what goes on in the woods through the eyes of owls, although it may be that he can transform into them. It's ambiguous.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''** Magic-users/wizards could do this with their {{familiar}}s and [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculi]].** There were a surprisingly large number of spells that allow to use other beings' senses, and not only the sight. Some work only on a limited group of creatures, such as the undead. Also, [[PsychicPowers psionic powers]].*** By fourth edition the 'scry on familiar ability' has gone missing. Arcane users can see though the eyes of a owl familiar and several others allow you to determine line of sight from their point of view.* The Animalism discipline in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' and ''[[VampireTheRequiem Requiem]]'' allows kindred to do this with one animal.* In the ''DCHeroes'' roleplaying game, this was an available superpower called 'Eye of the Cat'.* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' biodrones are vat-grown animals with concealed implants for remote control and usually surveillance. Unlike regular drones they look like ordinary animals.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]* The protagonist of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' does this with insects and arthropods. It is ''incredibly'' useful, as she can do it with every insect in her range simultaneously. Within a radius of approximately two blocks, she is effectively omniscient.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* Master Seer possesses a cat in ''TwoKinds'' to spy on the main character, but Lady Nora uses her shapeshifting powers to distract it.** He later possesses a horse. Its rider is suitably wielded out.[[/folder]]----